Infinite Hunter

Who can't tell this is clearly a field uniform, and one from a foreign army? Even if the M65 wasn't in service yet, it's clearly a direct descendant of the US military's WWII uniforms; the style is unmistakable. The boots are also ordinary, and while the cap isn't common in China, the two commanders have certainly seen it before. Isn't this Sandezi's field cap?

Cheng Yijiu's saber is also a typical American saber - it looks very similar to the M9, and there are many American sabers seized in China.

Chapter 36

Cheng Yijiu pondered the situation carefully. "I'm afraid I'll have to join the army no matter how reluctant I am—it's compulsory military service. They've given me a chance to consider it, and I really can't refuse to go." As the saying goes, a man of insight is a hero. Cheng Yijiu thought it through after a few minutes. But he couldn't just rush into it. It would be better to put it off until the next night, then go to the brigade to sign up in the morning and then go to the commune.

It was a shame to renovate the house, but the hunting had almost paid off—the herbs he'd gathered were sold to a forestry station that bought traditional Chinese medicine, and the most valuable items from the wild boars and black bears were bear gallbladders and pig stomachs, both valuable medicinal ingredients. Cheng Yijiu took a last, nostalgic bath in the wooden house. From then on, the right to live here depended on who could compensate him for his share of the money.

It turned out to be another male educated youth from Shanghai who paid Cheng Yijiu half the "property rights." He happily moved into the "luxury suite," which was far more comfortable than the dormitory bed. The next morning, Cheng Yijiu approached the team leader to express his willingness to go. Then, armed with a letter of introduction—which the two leaders had already prepared—he found a carriage and headed to the commune...

Two days later, the county's armed forces department sent him to the station and handed him over to a team of new recruits who were supposed to be serving this year. However, Cheng Yijiu was not issued a military uniform. Instead, he wore his American uniform and carried a large American camel bag and got on a sealed train with the new recruits and the old squad leader who was receiving the new recruits. After a day and a night, he was let off the train. After waiting on the platform for more than an hour with another person in military uniform, he got on another hard seat train.

After running for two more days and nights, Cheng Yijiu's back ached, and they arrived at their destination. This was supposed to be a station in southern China. Cheng Yijiu quickly spotted the name Changsha Station, where he parted ways with the soldier. He was told to stay temporarily at the station guesthouse and to resume his journey the next day.

The station guesthouse was quite good, at least enough to ease the fatigue of the long journey. After showering, Cheng Yijiu slept for twelve hours, waking up refreshed. Unable to leave the station, he used the ticket the guesthouse had given him to enjoy a good meal in the cafeteria. Afterward, he felt refreshed and continued to wait in his room for further notice. Someone arrived later and took him to another platform—clearly closed to the public. A train was waiting there.

This was a freight train, but with two passenger cars attached to the back. After boarding, Cheng Yijiu realized that one car held hard seats, while the other was a dining car. There were already over a dozen people in the hard seats, most of them soldiers, with only two, like him, wearing "civilian" clothing. The train continued on, surrounded by mountains and forests, until it finally stopped at a station that was clearly not a civilian station. After getting off, a row of soldiers and several officers were waiting for them on the platform.

The truck continued until they reached a camp, where Cheng Yijiu was officially enlisted. "I've never really taken military service seriously. Is this what it's like?" Cheng Yijiu changed into his training uniform, but refused to wear Liberation shoes—"Too thin, burns my feet, uncomfortable!" He insisted on wearing his own military boots. His performance in basic training was average, about the level of an average recruit, like housekeeping. However, in terms of physical training, he had already surpassed the standards set out in the training syllabus.

He brought his bow with him, and continued working on it during breaks in training—making traditional bows and arrows is a time-consuming process, and he didn't have modern materials on hand, so he had to take his time. The two commanders hadn't shown up, and the company commander was in charge of training Cheng Yijiu and the others. Cheng Yijiu had finally figured out who these people were—most of them were top talent selected from the various military regions.

They weren't necessarily the model soldiers, but rather the top students selected after a comprehensive assessment of their physical fitness and mental acuity. Cheng Yijiu and another guy named He Xie were special enlisted soldiers. He Xie was a university student before his university was shut down a few years ago, so he returned home to become an educated youth—poor thing, he had only been in school for a year. He looked a bit older than Cheng Yijiu, who had a youthful complexion after all.

In short, when it comes to housekeeping, Cheng Yijiu ranks last, but in military training, he's always ranked first, except for shooting. There are truly superb marksmen among these people, something Cheng Yijiu can't compare to. These guys, armed with only mechanical sights, can hit ten-rings every time with a 5 or 6-inch rifle, even at a 100-meter target. It's simply outrageous. Several of them can even hit actual targets at 300 meters, and they're close to ten-rings.

Cheng Yijiu couldn't do it. His eyesight was certainly good, but his shooting sense wasn't quite up to par. "I'm not as talented as them," Cheng Yijiu didn't really care. After all, he'd always fired within a hundred meters, which required not just accuracy but also speed. And in military boxing, Cheng Yijiu was an absolute advantage. With a dagger and a combination of moves, even the instructor was no match.

Military training lasted a month, then the intensity decreased and cultural classes began. Unfortunately, Cheng Yijiu still had no idea what the base in the mountains looked like. All he could see for a month were the training grounds, dormitories, bathrooms, and cafeteria, along with the connecting walkways. The mountain ranges visible from these areas only confirmed he was in a valley, nothing else.

They weren't required to stand guard at night, nor were there any infuriating nighttime emergency assemblies. The curtains weren't allowed to be drawn during sleep, which delighted the top students. However, college students He Xie and Cheng Yijiu felt they couldn't rely on time or the stars to roughly estimate their location. They could only infer, based on the time of daybreak and the few visible plants, that they were likely somewhere in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

It's hard to tell from the food, because everyone eats canned food...

The supplies here are plentiful, with plenty of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to support the intense training. The cultural courses are interesting; surprisingly, they're not military-related. "Is this knowledge about treasure appraisal? And knowledge about ancient Chinese and foreign culture? No wonder they're drafting me into the army." Some of the teachers read from the textbook, apparently because they don't understand. Essentially, they're just reading from the textbook. A few, like those teaching wild plant and animal identification, are veterans.

Chapter 37

Twenty-four people participated in this training exercise, twenty-two of them from various units across the major military regions, and two were "pull-ins." Of course, weapons were chosen based on individual convenience—they weren't a standardized combat unit, and uniformity wasn't sought. As a result, the twenty-two individuals were split almost evenly between the 565mm and 565mm submachine guns, and without exception, all used the 54mm...

He Xie, the university student, also chose a 56mm submachine gun, but he chose a Mauser 1896 box cannon for his pistol. Cheng Yijiu looked at him in surprise. "What era are you still using? Such an old-fashioned gun?" This was what Cheng Yijiu would say. He directly asked the company commander and the gunner, "Do you have any Winchester Magnum .300 rifle ammunition here? If so, I can get myself a semi-automatic rifle and use the American M14. It won't be a problem to convert the NATO standard ammunition to .300."

Cheng Yijiu disdained intermediate-power ammunition and went straight for full-power and enhanced-power rifle ammunition, with the 7.62x67 Magnum being his favorite. Modifying guns was a simple craft for him. The gunsmith and several base officers exchanged glances as they watched him work on the small lathe. This small place had a wide variety of guns and ammunition, and naturally, there was even a small gun workshop.

While manufacturing guns wasn't an option, processing them to a rate of one a day wasn't a problem. Cheng Yijiu reweighted the barrel, adjusted the piston weight to accommodate the increased gunpowder gases, and reinforced the bolt and spring. He quickly transformed an M14 he'd found somewhere—it was brand new, probably from the monkeys in Vietnam. He had to make his own magazines, lengthening them a bit and replacing the springs. He fabricated two ten-round magazines.

He also hand-turned a number of parts on the machine, crafted a few pins, and found springs. He used the barrel of a partially scrapped rifle, sawed it down, and then polished it before hand-making the handguard and grip. He'd done this several times before, so the curves and finger-marking areas of the grip were all formed in one go. "Wow, there's even some fine walnut wood," Cheng Yijiu painted and polished under everyone's gaze, completing the assembly of the pistol. A competitor also using Magnum ammunition was launched.

"I originally wanted to pick a 1911A1, but after much deliberation, I decided against it. I might face something that even a 4.5 ACP round wouldn't be enough to deal with." With this reason, Cheng Yijiu chose his semi-handmade weapon. It was so different and out of place. Everyone looked at him like he was a spy. The other guys' melee weapons were all bayonets, but he didn't use the original M14 bayonet. He used the large, specially made Rambo Bowie knife he always carried...

"This sword can subdue dragons and tigers!" Cheng Yijiu continued boasting, earning a collective sigh and a shake of the head. No one raised any objections, for in close combat training, Cheng Yijiu was the undisputed leader, no one could stand up to him. He practically killed them all with a single strike. Whether armed or unarmed, Cheng Yijiu could easily subdue anyone in the base—yes, that included all the instructors and officers.

The instructors, company commanders and platoon leaders who didn't believe in evil lined up to fight, but they were all defeated by Cheng Yijiu - with one move, no one could make him use a second move. It was an absolute crushing of strength and speed.

People who knew his background also arrived. One of the two leaders stood at the edge of the playground, smiling, watching him teasing the soldiers and instructors, "You are amazing too. You are a powerful guy who can kill an adult male bear and a wild boar with your bare hands." Then they looked at him strangely again. Such a great guy was really rare.

The commander's visit was also to inspect and assign tasks—to the Poyang Lake area. They first took a truck, then a train. A special sealed trailer was attached to the train, and a brief meeting was held on board. "Did the water level of Poyang Lake drop, exposing the ancient tomb? No, look at all the soldiers here. Do they look like they could dig a tomb? Contact the Peking University Archaeology Department," Cheng Yijiu exclaimed inwardly.

Was it possible that the army had taken this job away from the Cultural Relics Bureau? Could they be forming a modern-day tomb raiding unit? Cheng Yijiu had no interest in tomb robbing. He'd seen and destroyed many of the zongzi in tombs before, so he simply couldn't muster the energy to do such work. He continued to listen to the person in charge's explanation, until he mentioned the unexplained deaths that occurred after the discovery of the ancient tombs. That's when his interest perked up.

"How did they die? Mummified? Is that so exaggerated?" Cheng Yijiu found it very strange. The key point was that no one else had discovered how these people died, and the murderer was nowhere to be found. Everyone started discussing what was going on - someone immediately suggested that these people might be enemy spies. "What a joke! Which enemy spy has such ability? And what's the point of killing these people? What else could be in the tomb that requires spies to protect or steal?"

National treasures and cultural relics may be important, but normal spies would never be ordered to get hold of such things...

"Let's wait and see when we get there. At least we'll check the body first." This was said by He Xie. As the one with the highest academic qualifications, he almost had the final say.

The car should have been heading north and arrived at its destination after two days and one night. After leaving the station, the local garrison drove three trucks, so the 24 people, plus a leader and three officers, got on the trucks.

The trucks first went to the military sub-district guesthouse, rested for a night, and then set off again. After driving for almost a day, the convoy finally stopped. Cheng Yijiu saw the lake ahead and an island not far from the shore. "The ancient tomb is on the island." The local armed forces personnel had already been waiting. "Building a tomb in the water? What's the logic behind this? Aren't you afraid it's unlucky? Well, it's also the result of thousands of years of changes in the terrain." Cheng Yijiu immediately understood what was going on.

After inflating the kayaks, everyone boarded the boat and arrived at the island. The island was filled with a strong fishy smell, and many areas were covered with dead shells and seaweed, which were obviously once underwater. "At least clean it up! This stinking working environment is not good," Cheng Yijiu muttered. The sun had indeed turned the original clay into cracked lumps of hard soil, but the ground underneath was still soft, and my feet would sink into it from time to time.

This shows the advantage of military boots, which are much better than Liberation shoes. Cheng Yijiu was closer to the so-called ancient tomb than anyone else. He took a look and said, "Is the top of the tomb collapsed?" He looked at the sunken pit.

Chapter 38

The dark cave had an irregular opening about two meters in diameter, and the reflection of the water below was visible. "It's full of water. Are the people who died earlier on this island?" Cheng Yijiu asked the local armed forces chief who had come with him, standing by the cave and carefully examining it.

Commander Yang didn't interrupt, but let Cheng Yijiu ask, "Yes, they all died near this cave." Cheng Yijiu nodded and pulled his comrades beside him, "Don't go too close, it will be a big problem if you slide down. There must be something in here, it doesn't look good." He looked at Commander Yang, "It feels a bit similar to the thing in the mountain."

The others didn't understand what was in the mountain, but Chief Yang's face became much more serious and he nodded, "I suggest that we don't stay here to guard. Let's go back to the shore and check the condition of the deceased first. If we stay here to guard, I'm afraid there will be a few more deaths." Cheng Yijiu's attitude made him almost like the leader of this team.

No one dared to act as a thorn, as Commander Yang was also present and agreed with Cheng Yijiu's words. So everyone turned back downhill, boarded a speedboat, and headed directly to a nearby funeral home for an autopsy. The bodies were slightly decomposed, and the reason they hadn't decomposed further was that they were practically mummified.

"Their body fluids and blood have been almost drained." The doctor who was invited to perform the autopsy was in charge. Everyone gathered outside to listen to the report. Some people went in to see the bodies out of despair. Most of them vomited - the chief, the two officers, and the college student He Xie did not vomit, and of course Cheng Yijiu acted as if nothing had happened.

He had seen countless corpses that had been torn to pieces by wild beasts.

The chief wasn't surprised, of course, because college students are well-informed, after all. And the other guy was a tough guy who'd killed wild animals with his bare hands. If he'd vomited at the sight of a corpse, he'd have laughed himself to death. Cheng Yijiu had boasted on the way here, when someone asked him how he'd kill a bear or leopard without a knife. "A Nelson lock breaks the cervical vertebrae. Wild animals don't have the flexibility of shoulder joints like humans, and there's no way to unlock them. You push down from behind, and it snaps, and it's over."

It sounds easy, but this requires arms with tremendous strength.

Cheng Yijiu touched the skin of the corpses—they were all men, and their ages were difficult to determine due to their mummified faces, and even their identities were still unknown. It felt like sandpaper and bark, very hard when pressed. He rubbed it vigorously a few times.

"I feel like this leather has changed in texture?" Cheng Yijiu tried to pick up the dead man's skin, but it was difficult. The skin had shrunk so severely that it was practically clinging to the bones, just like the equally withered muscles beneath. So He Xie joined in, pressing for a long time before nodding. "Was dehydration the cause of death?" he asked the autopsy doctor.

They all saw the autopsy just now. It would be better to use a sharp sashimi knife or even an electric saw than a scalpel.

The cause of death couldn't be determined, at least not by the doctors. They could only say dehydration was definitely a factor, but the pathology couldn't reveal anything else. They could only say the person was dead and had become a mummified corpse, that was all.

After looking at the bodies, no conclusion was drawn, so the next day everyone returned to the island that had temporarily emerged from the water. According to the local armed forces, under normal water levels, the island should be at least three meters below the water surface. Historically, this place was land, but it sank to the bottom of the lake around the middle of the Song Dynasty.

Later, it occasionally surfaced during droughts, such as at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and only then did it surface again during this current drought. It was probably during this time that the island was discovered to contain ancient tombs—or at least something similar. The water level has been receding for the past few days, and it was only yesterday that the situation was fully confirmed—when the stone carvings on both sides of the shrine emerged from the water.

That's it, this ancient tomb has probably been robbed in history...

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yijiu wondered if the cave at the top was a thief's hole, then collapsed. The others shared a similar view, but going down here? That was too dangerous—even if a soldier volunteered to say they weren't afraid, the commander didn't want to lose any soldiers. Ultimately, this was just an underwater tomb, and there had been a few strange deaths.

There wasn't any infectious disease; it was simply a strange death situation, not a widespread one—because there hadn't been a large-scale supernatural death incident here in the years before. So it wasn't something that needed to be dealt with at the cost of human lives. Besides, the commander had his own opinion. "I think the tomb door is still underwater? Maybe it's already open."

Cheng Yijiu nodded, "Most likely, so it's quite dangerous to go into the water here." He didn't think much of any creature, but if it could turn a person into a mummy, the suction force must be so strong, and the body would definitely not be so intact. Cheng Yijiu had a little opinion on this...

I'm not going to discuss what this creature looks like, but it's likely capable of injecting an anesthetic toxin, a terrifyingly powerful digestive enzyme, or perhaps even a lethal injection of toxins. While the latter might be okay, the former would be a horrific death. In the animal kingdom, animals with this ability are mostly small insects, and their prey is similarly small. What kind of creature could do this to humans?

Anyway, if the preservation of the cultural relics inside the cave wasn't a concern, throwing a few grenades into the water seemed like a good idea, just to see what the shockwaves would create. "How about giving it a try?" everyone said. Commander Yang also sought some advice. After some phone calls, they finally decided to try a small, reduced-charge detonator.

It had a power of only about ten grams of TNT—a low charge, enough to kill, but insufficient for a grenade. The specially crafted explosive was effortlessly hurled into the hole by the expert thrower. Everyone waited more than twenty meters away, weapons loaded and dispersed—to avoid accidentally firing on their own comrades.

A dull explosion sounded, and water erupted from the cave entrance. But nothing was blown out, and for a moment, it was quite quiet... "Out there, underwater!" Cheng Yijiu heard the sound first, and he quickly pointed to the target - on this small island, near the direction of the stone sculptures with human heads sticking out of the water. The water surface was like a boiling pot, with bubbles and rolling water. Something must be underneath.

Chapter 39

As the water bubbled, everyone's attention was divided, while the other half remained focused on the cave—they weren't stupid American horror movie characters, so how could they let their guard down? Not long after, the object disturbing the lake finally emerged. It was a large eel, or at least it looked like an eel. The top part should be the head and mouth, and its body looked slippery and patterned.

The eel was enormous, almost as large as a conger eel. Its exposed length was nearly three meters, thicker than a sea bowl. It rolled on the surface, stirring up waves. At that moment, water erupted from the cave, and a massive "eel" soared upwards from the cave, raising its body like a venomous snake. "That's not an eel at all!" Cheng Yijiu noticed the suction-cup-like opening at the end.

"Is this a lamprey?" Cheng Yijiu thought to himself. But it seems to be from the sea? And how many lampreys this size are there? It can't grow that big. Someone raised their hands and opened fire. Everyone was no fool and immediately understood that if there was any suspicion of murder, it was definitely these two creatures that suddenly appeared. The soldiers here were very accurate with their guns. The bullets sprayed a large amount of blood on the animal that had emerged from the cave, which was over a meter tall. A lot of body tissue had been bitten off by the bullets.

The animal immediately went limp and slid down the cave wall, while the thing in the water tumbled even more violently. Cheng Yijiu took aim with his gun and fired, severing the front half of the creature's body. However, the animal didn't surface, instead sinking into a pool of blood. With both "killed," everyone looked at each other, unsure of what would happen next. Cheng Yijiu, however, was keenly aware of the change.

Soon, others felt it, too. Even those who hadn't noticed could see it—ripples appeared on the lake, and the entire island was shaking. "That's a big thing!" Cheng Yijiu cursed inwardly. Something must have struck the tomb. Judging by its size, it could have shaken a portion of the island, so it couldn't be smaller than an elephant. "Prepare to throw grenades." The commander's mind raced, and everyone sensed that the center of the tremors below was actually moving.

The direction of movement was exactly where the tomb's entrance had been identified. "It goes without saying, this door must have been opened over the ages," Cheng Yijiu muttered. He didn't bring any grenades, but the soldiers each had two grenades strapped to their waists, ready to pull the strings and throw them. The water was still churning violently, and everyone could feel something large beneath their feet, scraping against the cave wall, a heavy friction.

Someone ventured toward the shore, sensing movement below. "It's time to give up this position!" With that, the soldier turned and ran upwards. Cheng Yijiu, holding his rifle, stood at a higher point, observing the situation. "They've been talking about water monsters and water monkeys, and now we're finally going to see them." He was also quite curious about what kind of creature it was and where it evolved from. "It can't be a cephalopod from the phylum Mollusca, right?"

That's a bit of a stretch. If such a creature really existed, wouldn't it be the only one here? Wouldn't that make it incredibly rare? And it's likely one of the longest-lived creatures in the world—a rough calculation would put its lifespan at least two hundred years, right? How many creatures in the world can live two hundred years? And it's likely the largest mollusk—if it's a mollusk at all. And the giant squid has a very short lifespan, only a year and a half.

Soon, the grenade spontaneously fanned into the water, then exploded with a resounding explosion, sending waves crashing against the shore. The surface of the water was covered in white foam, and the previous movement suddenly ceased—fish could be seen floating upside down. The grenade's shrapnel was harmless underwater, but the shockwave was its greatest destructive power. Whatever the aquatic monster was, it was probably dead underwater.

"Huh?! I remember the blood from this thing is red, so it's not a cephalopod mollusk... Never mind, if it floats up, that would be best. I don't want to go into the water to fish it out." Cheng Yijiu thought, "How about we find two larger fishing boats and try trawling them?" He Xie suggested this. It was an idea. They could just use the walkie-talkie to contact each other. After that, it was just a matter of waiting. There weren't many fishing boats with engines here, so they would have to coordinate.

Everyone quickly retreated to shore in assault boats. After waiting for over two hours, two iron-hulled fishing boats arrived. They unfurled the nets. A few soldiers came aboard to help, but everyone else watched from the shore. The nets were lowered, and the boats had to haul them back and forth twice, carefully avoiding the stone statues—otherwise, the nets would surely break. "Something!" Everyone felt the winch move as they were pulling in the nets.

The boat was clearly tilting backward, but it quickly righted itself. "Don't let them pull up the stone beast, or the net will probably rip apart. I think we should just cordon off this area, pump out all the water, and then open the tomb," Cheng Yijiu muttered. His men relaxed, their rifles slung across their backs. "What kind of creature do you think it is?" He was curious about the others' opinions.

Commander Yang shook his head. "I don't know, but this thing must have several heads." He Xie said, "I didn't expect there would be a giant freshwater octopus? This thing is an octopus, right?"

The other soldiers were also talking about it, most of them talking about the big fish. Cheng Yijiu muttered, "I think this thing is much more dangerous than an octopus." Everyone looked at him, "What do you think?"

"This creature eats its prey the same way a spider does. It injects paralytic or neurotoxins, causing paralysis or brain death in its prey. Then it injects what may be the strongest digestive enzymes we've ever seen, melting the prey's subcutaneous tissue, muscle, fat, and internal organs into 'nutrient juice', which it then sucks dry. This is the mummified corpse we've seen before," Cheng Yijiu said. "Besides spiders, the only other species that eat this way are carnivorous snails."

The things in the net gradually emerged from the water. The first thing to emerge from the water was a strange long "wood" covered with moss-like water plants and mud. "Damn! It's true!" Cheng Yijiu cursed as soon as he saw those wood-like structures, because he recognized that these were the spikes on the snail shell, but with such large spikes, you can imagine how big this thing is.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The tree-trunk-like structure could be over two meters long, and that was just one of the spines on the mollusk's shell. "How deep is the water here? Something's wrong. Judging by the surfaced stone statues, it's only a little over two meters. Why is it pulled out wrong? This net must have been lowered at least fifteen or sixteen meters, right?" What was the underwater terrain like? Cheng Yijiu didn't want to dwell on it.

The continuous grenade explosions seemed to have finally "taken control" of the monstrous thing before them—the top of its volute was already out of the water, as huge as the top of a pagoda. The fishing boat began to lose its grip, and the net was clearly breaking. The lake began to churn. "Hurry up and keep throwing grenades!" someone shouted. Cheng Yijiu watched as they hurled a dozen more grenades. Suddenly, the lake was covered in explosions, and the spray even soaked half the boat.

The hulls were undoubtedly severely damaged, and men were already working to stop the leaks. The pumps pumped relentlessly, but the two ships could no longer be pulled. "Cut the nets!" As the rear half of the ship began to sink, and the front half of the bow rose above the water, Commander Yang gave the order—he could accept the culprit not being pulled up, but he could not accept the loss of life. After the nets were cut, the bows of the two ships plunged back into the water, spraying both sides.

The boat quickly departed the scene, and the massive shell sank once more. "After all, we didn't get to see the whole thing!" Everyone lamented. Cheng Yijiu suspected it was either dead or at least seriously injured and unconscious—a carbon-based creature couldn't withstand the shockwaves of nearly thirty grenades exploding in the water. The surface of the water was covered in bubbles. This massive snail had sunk, and no one knew if it would reappear.

Cheng Yijiu sketched something on the paper. Lao Liu, the team's political commissar, came over and took a look at the drawing. "Is this what you think the monster looks like?" The drawing showed an oversized snail, its carapace adorned with prominent spines. Extending from the shell were multiple tentacles, each terminating in a leech-like shape. This was Cheng Yijiu's opinion, so he nodded. "Even though I haven't seen it, it's probably like that."

The discussion at the Zhuge Liang meeting yielded a similar conclusion. Cheng Yijiu wasn't the only one who raised the issue of the water depth; many others raised the issue. Consequently, the proposal to build a dike and pump out the water was shelved. Sending divers down? If the creature was still alive, that wouldn't be a good option. The final conclusion was to request a few depth charges from the navy and then observe closely, ensuring the local government didn't engage in land reclamation or aquaculture nearby.

If there are problems in the future, we can wait until technology develops. Otherwise, what else can we do?

The Navy actually brought in a few nearly obsolete depth charges, and this time, they were dropped from bombers—perfect for a rare training exercise. "The target depth is only ten meters; going deeper wouldn't make sense." So the bombers took off and began dropping their bombs, while everyone watched from their bunkers. The explosions were far more spectacular than those from hand grenades; it felt as if the lake itself had been blown skyward.

Even when hiding in the shelter, you can feel water drops falling on your head. This shelter is more than 30 meters away from the lake.

After the explosion, dead fish floated up everywhere. Luckily, there were no finless porpoises or white-fin dolphins, and seemingly no Chinese sturgeons or white sturgeons either. Cheng Yijiu breathed a sigh of relief. The more he hunted, the softer his heart became. "We can leave now! If this guy's still here, he should have been blown up by now." They didn't think about the ancient tomb anymore; it had probably been robbed centuries ago.

The truck then took the train back, this time with a new base, somewhere in Guangxi. "Looks like they're going to enter Southeast Asia? The Americans are still fighting in Vietnam." Cheng Yijiu was puzzled. They didn't necessarily want to fight in Vietnam, did they? There were troops supporting Vietnam, but they were anti-aircraft artillery units, with almost no infantry combat.

Cheng Yijiu abandoned his traditional bow—it was so damp and hot in this place that the glue on the bow wouldn't dry at all, and the horns were starting to come unglued. Fortunately, you can sometimes find good stuff here, and Cheng Yijiu found a detachable recurve bow of an unknown brand. "It's quite powerful, but I need to modify it to suit my habits." The bow, with its handle, two limbs, and stabilizer, is capable of firing a fairly heavy, lethal arrow.

This thing must be a foreign product; the blade tip is clearly full of lethality. After a few minor adjustments, Cheng Yijiu found the ring quite comfortable to use. But he also received some unpleasant news. "Can't I bring my rifle this time? Aren't M14s everywhere in Vietnam? Bringing a submachine gun? That's ridiculous! What's the point of a 9mm submachine gun?" This time, all primary weapons had to be automatic.

So Cheng Yijiu grabbed a Type 56 submachine gun and shouted, "Kalashnikov, give me strength!", making everyone laugh. He was also wearing an M65 military jacket, the field uniform the US military was currently wearing in Vietnam. His boots weren't the US military's tropical style, though. "This damn place is scorching hot! I wish I could fight naked," he swore.

He even thought about just wearing a tactical jacket and applying insect repellent ointment on his body - but dressing like that wouldn't work. It works in movies, but not in real life. He'd get bitten to death by bugs and leeches...

In the end, he compromised and got a pullover T-shirt—also a US military style, something they'd captured in abundance over the years. As for insect repellent camouflage ointment? Our army didn't seem to have it yet, so Cheng Yijiu made some himself, mostly cosmetic putty. He also switched to a camouflage cap with a large brim—he had no interest in wearing a steel helmet or the pith sun hats favored by the Vietnamese and Guangxi people.

A week later, the mission arrived. "Isn't this the other side's map?" Cheng Yijiu pondered, glancing at it for a moment. The commander then stepped forward to explain, "Some inexplicable situations have occurred in these areas recently. The Vietnamese comrades are unable to explain them, so this mission will be assigned to you. Divide into groups and go to these locations to investigate." Perhaps there were more secrets involved, but at least this was the only mission assigned to Cheng Yijiu.

"I'll be alone, and the other comrades should form a team with more people. The jungle is still quite dangerous. It's more convenient for me to act alone - leave these three points to me." Cheng Yijiu took the initiative to take the heaviest task. The three points he was responsible for were close to the battle line between the two sides - the kind that were jagged and intertwined, and these were the points that the guerrillas and the South Vietnamese puppet army would fight for.

This chapter has not been reviewed

This chapter has not been reviewed

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

As he raised his rifle, the guerrillas were already suffering casualties. The previous blind exchange of fire had concealed the South Korean troops' sneak infiltration, and now the renewed fire had exposed many of the guerrillas. The guerrillas' firepower suddenly weakened, and at least six or seven people were killed or wounded.

Only two South Koreans had died so far, and it was Cheng Yijiu who had done it. Now, Cheng Yijiu leaned against a tree trunk, aiming from a kneeling position. After a brief pause, he pulled the trigger. One South Korean was hit by side fire and fell to the ground, dead. But his teammates had already opened fire, decimating the guerrillas.

Cheng Yijiu observed for a moment and noticed that Li Yuanchao had also attacked. The two began to coordinate their fire. Soon, the South Koreans prepared to withdraw and disengage. They weren't really selling their lives to the Americans, but for the money they were paid, they were happy to be able to do this. They tried hard to carry away the wounded, but simply fled without taking the dead.

After the battle, they began to count the losses. A total of three Koreans died, and it was unknown how many were injured. These guys later summoned US attack aircraft. An A7 attack aircraft first dropped two bombs, and then two A1 attack aircraft buzzed in the sky to perform battlefield support missions, so the South Koreans retreated relatively easily.

Cheng Yijiu saw they were carrying at least three stretchers, meaning there were at least three wounded. The guerrillas counted the casualties and found seven dead, with the rest all injured. Of the three girls, one was dead and two were injured. They were truly brave, but their combat skills were truly poor. Cheng Yijiu and Li Yuanchao were unharmed; they hadn't even used much ammunition; they were both firing single-shot bursts.

Li Yuanchao looked at Cheng Yijiu with surprise. Cheng Yijiu's resume didn't include any battlefield experience, but his performance just now was that of a jungle warfare veteran. "Please call me Sylvester Rambo," Cheng Yijiu said jokingly, which was a bit inappropriate. There was no other way. Without the two of them today, the guerrillas might have suffered even greater casualties.

Two of the seven people died in the air raid. There was nothing Cheng Yijiu could do about it unless he had a frog on his head.

It was precisely the relatively amateur combat capabilities of these guerrillas that prevented Cheng Yijiu from fully exerting his abilities—he was more likely to be hit by his own bullets than by the South Koreans. The dead comrades were lightly buried with fallen leaves, the injured were bandaged, and the guerrillas still had to complete their mission.

Cheng Yijiu would not persuade them because it was an insult.

The translator wasn't dead. He had shrapnel in his leg. After it was removed, he had it stitched up, disinfected, and bandaged. He was now using a branch as a crutch and moving forward. If we continued forward, we would reach the first checkpoint. When we set out, we'd been told this place was under guerrilla control, but now it seemed uncertain.

"Tell them to stay in the woods and don't come near. Let's go check it out first." In the end, Cheng Yijiu and Li Yuanchao helped them. Li Yuanchao couldn't bear to watch anymore, but Cheng Yijiu was fine. The village had a fence, with bamboo buildings inside and a tall watchtower in the middle. You could see machine gun positions inside, and most likely a mortar position in the middle.

The entire village was silent. Cheng Yijiu gestured for him to go ahead, and Li Yuanchao would just prepare fire support. There were crude trenches outside, filled with bamboo sticks, but Cheng Yijiu was no use; he jumped over them. "This bloody stench and stench, I don't think there are any living people in there." The smell was so nauseating that Cheng Yijiu used a small mirror to check all the positions. There was no one there, and there were black bloodstains on the ground.

Cheng Yijiu raised his hand, and Li Yuanchao ran over. "It stinks! Something's wrong!" The two of them entered from the front, lowered the drawbridge, and the guerrillas also came over. "It looks like everyone inside is dead." Cheng Yijiu had found the center of the stench. He pushed open the largest wooden house, and a black cloud of flies rushed out.